As last week wrapped up it was easy to see elements of the UC ANR Promise everywhere. On Thursday afternoon the REC Directors shared their thoughts about how best to position the REC system to meet research needs in the future. Clearly the group has been thinking long and hard on that question with a focus on staying true to our promise to provide practical, non-biased research that people trust. Earlier in the week I had spoken with a researcher about conducting controversial research and the challenges of sharing controversial findings. That's where trust, and a long history of it, becomes so important, not to mention the courage to be non-biased even when confronted with unpopular findings. Those elements, trust and non-bias, are inseparable and the foundation of UC ANR research at the RECs and across the state.

Another component of that foundation is addressing emerging challenges through cutting edge research and technology. I read a great interview of Maggi Kelly over the weekend that highlighted how she and her lab are at the cutting edge of mapping technology to the benefit of the UC ANR network. Maggi @nmaggikelly refers to her work as special data science. Be sure to take a look at the Women in GIS interview to learn about some of Maggi's favorite projects!

I spent Friday in San Mateo County and at Elkus Ranch. It was a great day to be outside a tremendous opportunity to learn more about the outstanding team members and the great work they are doing in the counties and at the ranch. A school class was visiting and having Lunch at the Ranch while we were there. It's hard to believe how much learning is packed into the part-day class visit. The kids picked the vegetables they planned to include in the veggie pizzas they would make for lunch. I suspect the highlight of the class trip may have been the goats; everyone seemed to love petting the goats and clearly the goats were up for it. The kids learned about sheep as well and the challenge of predators (hence the looming presence of the llama). I can't help but wonder how many of the city kids were influenced enough by that trip to, like me, choose a career in agriculture. I was particularly interested to hear about the programs that include not only kids but parents each year and how much influence the program has on the parents even though the focus is on educating kids. I think this suggests that the use of participatory programs (another element of the UC ANR Promise) can change behaviors even more broadly than intended!

Predator-prey education at Elkus Ranch

Other stops for the day included meeting with the nutrition group in the San Bruno office to hear more about their programs, including EFNEP, CalFresh and the Healthy Living Ambassadors program. I had a chance to see the HLA program in action in Redwood City where trained teens educated the elementary school participants on MyPlate and helped the kids maintain a school garden.

We also met with some of the Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center in Redwood City to see the location of the satellite helpline right in the community and the demonstration garden constructed with the seniors in mind. The partnership is broader than just UC; including Girl Scouts and others throughout the community. These volunteers are certainly current on technology, using QR codes to link to information about plants sold at their plant sale! A fabulous day and another example of outstanding programs in people in UC ANR.

Crucial Conversations training is on the calendar for the next two days; as much as it pained me to do homework, I have completed the assigned reading and thought about a couple of scenario conversations. I hope there isn't too much role playing. In spite of having gone through this type of training in the past, I don't think the road to continuous improvement is comprised of ‘one and done' development opportunities so I have no doubt I will learn a few things. Hopefully the sun will be back in Oakland when I return!